Brewmaster Brian Baird has pulled out the stops with his beers. Along with his regular offerings — Rising Sun Pale Ale, Angry Boy Brown Ale and Shimaguni Stout — he is producing several limited-edition ales especially for the Nakameguro location.

Co-owner Jason Koehler is producing a range of satisfying hand-made Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas. This is a style of pie virtually unknown hitherto here in Tokyo, and it goes brilliantly with all those brews.

When it comes to authenticity, none can rival L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele in Ebisu, the first offshoot of the all-time classic eatery of that name in the old city of Naples. It's come to Tokyo to show us just how pizza should taste if ...

At the far end of the street, Meri Principessa offers budget Italian drinks and snacks in its ground-floor standing bar (currently nicely open-fronted), with seats for 26 in the compact basement. Its diminutive wood-fired oven produces highly acceptable pizzas from as little as ¥500 ...

Owner Satoshi Ikuta is not just a pizza enthusiast, he is an Italophile to the umpteenth degree. He's the guy with the goatee beard and tractor driver's baseball cap whom you see toiling away in front of that fiery furnace. His passion is not, ...

The Italian-esque fare is far from the best (or the best value) in town, but it's worth it for the pleasure of open-air dining to the sound of lapping water while watching the Chuo Line trains rumble past.